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nda, I was going on the reported fuel useage from the 28i owners on the X3 board who were reporting well over 30 mpg with the new turbo 4. Not scientific I know just mentioning it. The VAG 4 cyl TDI's all get well over their EPA numbers out in the real world too it seems.

I know many of you had compared with X3 when you were buying X5. I'm in the same situation now. I plan to have one kid next year and another one a year or two later. So I need a car that can seat parents, two kids and another adult passenger. I found that X5 does not provide much more space. And some comments here say that the third row is too tiny even for toddlers. I'm wondering what make you people choose X5 over X3.

Any input is appreciated!

If you have to chose between X3 or X5 i would say X5. I have couple of kids and we are very comfortable inX5. I would think it is safer as well. X5 does consume lot more gas and you will need to fill it up premium gas...

There are always functional trade offs as other posters have listed. However, one thing I feel gets lost in the x3 versus x5 conversation is driving dynamics.

Having both, I would oversimplify the driving experience to the following:

The x3 is a 3 series feeling vehicle with extra space. If you like that lighter, smaller, nimble sports feel, you will probably love driving the x3 more.

The x5 is more like a 5 or even 7 series with more room. If you like a little more heft with a little more luxury, maybe a little less of that nimble small feeling, you will probably prefer driving the x5.

Last ride was X3, and not ashamed to say that I am SERIOUSLY thinking about getting the top of the line Sienna in a few months when I turn in the 35i, with the fat tires. Yes, a Toyota.

For some reason, my father loves his Sienna, even though its just him and my mom. They had an 05 and just recently traded it in on a loaded '12. It's sad that a $40k Toyota has TTS navigation, comfort access, and stuff standard, while my $65k BMW has none of that.

I've driven both many many times. They're damn fast with the V6, but the steering sucks.

nda, I was going on the reported fuel useage from the 28i owners on the X3 board who were reporting well over 30 mpg with the new turbo 4. Not scientific I know just mentioning it. The VAG 4 cyl TDI's all get well over their EPA numbers out in the real world too it seems.

Not that high. From what I have seen, most people report 21 mpg on a mix of city and high way.

The option we want are mostly about safety. We don't care much about sunroof stuffs. We want
1, cold weather package II (heated seats and retractable headlight washer)
2, driver assistance
3, rear camera on the top
4, headup display
5, adaptive headlight
It is very annoying that you have to get the premium package to get some specific options. We don't know how to proceed at this stage, waiting for dealer's response.

By the way, does bluetooth come with the basic configuration?

After reading a lot in this forum, we realize that leasing might be a better way to go. We have saved enough money to pay the full price in cash. But it seems not to be a wise choice to put all money on something that depreciates from day 1. So we may go with leasing or financing.

There are always functional trade offs as other posters have listed. However, one thing I feel gets lost in the x3 versus x5 conversation is driving dynamics.

Having both, I would oversimplify the driving experience to the following:

The x3 is a 3 series feeling vehicle with extra space. If you like that lighter, smaller, nimble sports feel, you will probably love driving the x3 more.

The x5 is more like a 5 or even 7 series with more room. If you like a little more heft with a little more luxury, maybe a little less of that nimble small feeling, you will probably prefer driving the x5.

The option we want are mostly about safety. We don't care much about sunroof stuffs. We want
1, cold weather package II (heated seats and retractable headlight washer)
2, driver assistance
3, rear camera on the top
4, headup display
5, adaptive headlight
It is very annoying that you have to get the premium package to get some specific options. We don't know how to proceed at this stage, waiting for dealer's response.

By the way, does bluetooth come with the basic configuration?

After reading a lot in this forum, we realize that leasing might be a better way to go. We have saved enough money to pay the full price in cash. But it seems not to be a wise choice to put all money on something that depreciates from day 1. So we may go with leasing or financing.

Yes Bluetooth is standard on BMW x3. You will get phone features.

Driver assist is not that useful. You can get away from blind spot warning by aligning the mirrors correctly. Given your status, I say lease is a good idea since you may want to move to BMW x5. Then again, I would add that going for x5 on the first purchase may better. You basically save on the x3 depreciation costs. X5 is my first BMW for that reason as well.

Have you considered dyanmic handling package. It comes with dynamic damper control. It just makes the car feels much more sporty and comfortable at the same time.

Driver assist is not that useful. You can get away from blind spot warning by aligning the mirrors correctly. Given your status, I say lease is a good idea since you may want to move to BMW x5. Then again, I would add that going for x5 on the first purchase may better. You basically save on the x3 depreciation costs. X5 is my first BMW for that reason as well.

Have you considered dyanmic handling package. It comes with dynamic damper control. It just makes the car feels much more sporty and comfortable at the same time.

So which version of x3? The 28 or 35.

Thanks for the answers !

By Dynamic Damper Control, you mean the sport, sport+ mode? I'm not sure if I need it. It seems to be useful if you drive on different kind of road (shock absorption). But I mostly drive in cities and highway. Is my understanding correct?

I ran across ARC ( automatic roller control). It looks useful for safety from youtube video. Which package this ARC is included?

I'm thinking of 28i. Because my wife will be the main driver. Safety is the top priority. Power is on the bottom of the list. a 35i would be at least $5000 more expensive. I'd better use these money on other packages.

One of the reasons I go with X3 is that, next gen x5 is coming out next year. After one or two year when major issue with new x5 is resolved, I will upgrade. We may have a second baby at that time. So that's our plan.

I have both X3 2012 and x5 2013, the X3 is noticeable smaller despite BMW claims that this new X3 is as large as the originals X5s, both are gasoline, I dont like diesels, X3 dash is way better than the X5, the X3 info screen is a full color screen which shows all info nicer than the X5, also the X3 has 4 gauges, Fuel, Speed, Tacho and Temp, on the X5 you have only 2 gauges and no temp, and I think temp is something that you should be aware everytime. I feel the X3 a little more agile on driving than the X5, maybe weight, but for sure the X5 has a nicer look and it is bigger inside. Also this is something maybe too specific but I hate the X5 turning signals arrows, they are exactly behind the steering wheel, so you must look for them behind the sterring wheel in order to know if they are on, on the X3 you have them exactly between the 2 central gauges so they are easy to see.

I`m not gonna lie, I`d honestly wait for the 2014 X5 and MDX. BMW not really an issue of whether the next gen will be better than the current, but who knows what systems will go electric and how they will compare to the E70. The Acura seems to be really gunning for the top spot. I know its not really comparable to say the BMW marquee (if your into that bit), but tech wise, it seems unique. Im hoping the 14 MDX borrows ALOT (powertrain wise) from the RLX concept. (it seems to be SH-AWD, with a powerful gas engine driving the front, while 2 electric motors driving each rear wheel). Really advanced stuff.

Why does this matter?
CAUSE EVERY TIME someone says Lexus has better build quality, one should consider what Toyota their Lexus Engine and chassis platform comes out of and how long that part has been tested in the real world!

Have you considered the Hybrid Q5 that's coming out (It gets 24/30MPG)? Unfortunately, you would be wrong on the fuel consumption expectations for those other two (per Edmunds again):
Audi Q5 TT2.0 get 20/28
BMW X3 28i gets...19/25

He was comparing the X3 28i with the new 4 cylinder turbo for 2013, which gets 21/28 and is a little bit more powerful and fuel efficient than the Q5 2.0t. The mileage you listed for the X3 28i was the 6 cylinder for 2011/2012.

By Dynamic Damper Control, you mean the sport, sport+ mode? I'm not sure if I need it. It seems to be useful if you drive on different kind of road (shock absorption). But I mostly drive in cities and highway. Is my understanding correct?

I ran across ARC ( automatic roller control). It looks useful for safety from youtube video. Which package this ARC is included?

I'm thinking of 28i. Because my wife will be the main driver. Safety is the top priority. Power is on the bottom of the list. a 35i would be at least $5000 more expensive. I'd better use these money on other packages.

One of the reasons I go with X3 is that, next gen x5 is coming out next year. After one or two year when major issue with new x5 is resolved, I will upgrade. We may have a second baby at that time. So that's our plan.

By Dynamic Damper Control, you mean the sport, sport+ mode? I'm not sure if I need it. It seems to be useful if you drive on different kind of road (shock absorption). But I mostly drive in cities and highway. Is my understanding correct?

I ran across ARC ( automatic roller control). It looks useful for safety from youtube video. Which package this ARC is included?

I'm thinking of 28i. Because my wife will be the main driver. Safety is the top priority. Power is on the bottom of the list. a 35i would be at least $5000 more expensive. I'd better use these money on other packages.

One of the reasons I go with X3 is that, next gen x5 is coming out next year. After one or two year when major issue with new x5 is resolved, I will upgrade. We may have a second baby at that time. So that's our plan.

I believe the automatic anti roll is standard part of the stability control system . This feature prevents suv from rolling over. I remember watching a youtube video on bmw roll over testing. They had a hard time to roll their suv over and had to make much sharper ramp. Note, this is standard pretty much on all suvs.

German car is not known for their safety. I personally think Volvo has a lot more accident prevention technology. The car even will break for you under low speed conditions on detection of pedestrian or am object in front. The handling of a German car is really shine under high speed cornering and turn. If you drive reasonable posted road speed, even a standard suv will be very safe.

I believe the automatic anti roll is standard part of the stability control system . This feature prevents suv from rolling over. I remember watching a youtube video on bmw roll over testing. They had a hard time to roll their suv over and had to make much sharper ramp. Note, this is standard pretty much on all suvs.

German car is not known for their safety. I personally think Volvo has a lot more accident prevention technology. The car even will break for you under low speed conditions on detection of pedestrian or am object in front. The handling of a German car is really shine under high speed cornering and turn. If you drive reasonable posted road speed, even a standard suv will be very safe.

Sent from my LG-P999 using Bimmer App

Yea...ARC and dynamic suspension are not gonna rewrite the laws of physics and prevent a roll-over. However ARC and dynamic suspension allow you to approach the limit much more composed than say a mechanical, non-adaptive setup. You can watch the videos, from BMW explained what the Active Roll Stabilization system (X5 is used in the videos i believe on youtube) and Dynamic Dampers (pretty much imagine a suspension given coil-over levels of adjustability all through a simple driver controlled switch).

The video of the BMW unable to rolled, was the X6. This was due in part to the x6 having a very low center of gravity and hence, they had to induce it by, purposely trying to crash the vehicle (they have a wireless steering controller and a bigger ramp). I could go one more, but thats just too much.

All in all the dynamic suspension isnt a must for most people, as you could purchase other daily driver options (HUD, better seats, better anything that makes your X easier to live with). However if you like taking your X3 on windy roads, or take the highway on-ramp at more than civic like speeds, dynamic is a must.

Why does this matter?
CAUSE EVERY TIME someone says Lexus has better build quality, one should consider what Toyota their Lexus Engine and chassis platform comes out of and how long that part has been tested in the real world!

Why does this matter?
CAUSE EVERY TIME someone says Lexus has better build quality, one should consider what Toyota their Lexus Engine and chassis platform comes out of and how long that part has been tested in the real world!